Halloween Moves
by Shire Folk
Summary: Oneshot. When Halloween comes to Destiny Islands, that means the annual High School dance. But with the romance issue between Sora and Kairi yet to come into fruition, can Sora muster the courage to ask Kairi to dance? Kaiora, slight Tilphie.


_I've decided to break tradition and write a oneshot. Except for once, this one will have absolutely very little to do with __**The Annals of Darkness **__series unlike the previous oneshot I wrote and subsequently removed from as it took place during __**The War**__'s timeline. Well, actually it still pertains to some of the concepts I created in that fic, such as the island that Sora lives on being called 'Felra' with the other three islands excluding the play island being known as 'Dunash', 'Straca', and 'Nova'. Only thing that's really different for the meticulous is that I'm actually allowing the people of Destiny Islands to reference God._

_So without further ado, let's get on with Halloween!_

_Disclaimer: I do not now, nor ever will own Kingdom Hearts. And if I ever actually did and started toting around that I did, every single author in this section of the site would start badgering me. I can see why Nomura probably never publicly announces that he goes to these sites if he even does. We'd be all over him if he used an idea from one of our stories._

**Halloween Moves**

It was fall on Destiny Islands. The transplanted trees that could have their leaves changing colour with the shifting seasons had already nearly lost all of them, while the rest still proudly held onto their greenery as the tropical heat still mostly persisted. But the islands themselves did not appear to notice the passing of the seasons, only the steady beat of the ocean lapping against their shores as the years waned on.

And so to the casual passerby it would seem that the islands themselves could care less that the current date was October the thirty-first, a day celebrated by the people of the islands and those on many other worlds, even so much as having a single world that created the holiday in the first place, known as Halloween. Halloween: the day when all believed in ghosts and witches, and fairies and trolls, and zombies and vampires, and the day of spooks and scares, of nightmares and horror movies, of Michael Jackson and the _Thriller_.

In customary fashion, the entire city of Felra and the towns upon the other islands of Dunash, Straca, and Nova were bedecked with Halloween decorations. Skeletons hung from the closets and home-made corpses swayed slightly in the breeze as the nooses around their necks caused the beams of the do-it-yourself gallows to creak ominously. The streets were mostly quiet, the occasional rumble of the rare car rumbling down the cobblestone roads in plain sight of the scores of carved pumpkins that leered or smiled at them.

At a certain high school in the city of Felra, two friends anxiously awaited a sound that would end the day's torment. A brunette male and auburn-haired female clutched their hands around the wooden swords they held while they stayed within the gymnasium where their weapons training class was being held. The entire purpose of the class was advertised to teach students how to defend themselves against fiends if they ever came across them when wandering the islands. For the students though, it was merely an excuse to beat up on each other and boast as if they'd won at a video game.

"Come on Kairi," a girl with a bouncy and unnatural brown hairstyle cheered. "Teach the hero a lesson!" The auburn-haired girl holding onto her play sword grinned at her friend watching from the sidelines before turning back to face her opponent.

"Don't let up Sora," a boy who stood next to the first cheering girl ordered. His messy blonde hair swayed as the girl next to him punched him in a friendly manner.

"Stop taking his side Tidus," she whined.

"Well you're always on Kairi's side Selphie," Tidus argued. Selphie stuck her tongue out at Tidus in a pout.

The brunette facing Kairi smirked at his opponent while keeping a close eye on the clock. "It looks like our friends like watching us fight to the death Kai," he said.

"It's just because you're the keyblade master and hero of the universe that they want to see you get beaten by me," Kairi answered with a smile.

Sora laughed and shook his head, his gravity defying spiked hair swishing through the air. He knew that Kairi could beat him if she really tried hard enough. She had come a very long way in handling a blade since he had left her on the islands while he searched for their other friend Riku. However, that didn't mean that Kairi had surpassed him.

He just couldn't force himself to not go easy on her.

"What?" Kairi asked, seeing his laugh. "You don't think I can do it?"

"I think you could do anything you set your mind on Kairi," Sora answered, delaying for time as he watched the second hand on the clock slowly tick away. "Anything, except beating me that is."

"Oh, so cocky," Kairi warned, waving a finger in front of her. But she was still smiling in their playful banter back and forth. "You should never underestimate an opponent Sora, you know that better than anyone."

Sora gave a slight chuckle of laughter. Really their teacher should have been reprimanding him, but he left early for some made up excuse, probably in Sora's mind to go and see the new hot mechanics teacher. Rumours had been circulating the school that there were sparks between Mr. Taka and Miss Lilne. "How is it easy to estimate how good a princess is?" He smiled further when Kairi folded her arms over her hips, her wooden sword lying lightly in her right hand.

She looked so cute when she pouted about him calling her a princess.

"Princesses can be a handful even to one as skilled as you Sora," Kairi said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Very mature of you my princess," Sora said, giving her a mock bow.

"What are you talking about? You haven't even scored a hit on me yet." Sora looked up.

"We haven't even started yet," he reminded her.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "We started this a long time ago Sora, when I first showed up on the islands."

Sora looked at Kairi in confusion. _What the heck was she talking about?_

"Um, what?" he asked. Kairi let out a frustrated sigh.

"We've known that this was going to happen for over a year now Sora," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And it's been so long since you got back, why haven't you made a move yet?"

Now thoroughly confused, Sora began to loosen his grip on his toy weapon, the clock momentarily forgotten. "I thought you were going to make the first move."

"No," Kairi said, frowning. "That's your job. It's like in chess. You're white and I'm black. White always moves first."

Sora scratched his head. He didn't quiet know what to make of this. Kairi's words were simply unable or he was unwilling to let them make sense in his mind. Kairi had always struck first every other time they sparred in their last block of the day, why was it suddenly his job to make a move first? And where did the whole chess reference come from? Had Kairi suddenly joined the chess club or something, or had she really learned to play the game while he was away?

_I'm not really sure she's talking about sparring anymore Sora,_ the voice of Roxas, his nobody spoke into his mind.

_Well, what else could she be talking about in this situation?_ Sora replied.

_Well I still don't know about your chess theory. Have you ever seen Kairi playing chess?_

_Well that doesn't mean that she doesn't know how to play right? But how was she able to drag chess into this?_

Before he or Roxas could even contemplate an answer to his question, he became aware of a slightly irritating feeling of pain on his left shoulder. It was a dull, but sudden pain that jolted him from his thoughts.

Kairi was standing only a couple of feet in front of him, a wide smile on her face, with her wooden sword resting against the side of his white school uniform-clad shoulder.

"You shouldn't underestimate princesses Sora," she said smugly. "And you also shouldn't be conversing with nobodies in a fight."

"How'd you know I was talking to Roxas?" Sora asked. "And wait a second, we weren't even fighting yet!"

"You're just sore because you lost Sora," said Selphie, coming up to congratulate Kairi on her rather unorthodox win. Kairi never answered Sora's question, she just giggled a little and let her eyes flutter a few times over her indigo irises.

Sora couldn't help but not feel the hand Tidus had placed on his shoulder, or the one his other friend Michael had put down. A small flock of butterflies had suddenly been unleashed into his stomach when he saw Kairi's batting eyelashes.

Roxas mentally snapped his imaginary fingers in Sora's mind. _Wake up bro,_ he said. _Did you just see what I saw?_

_If it was Kairi, then yes you saw it because I saw it too,_ Sora replied dryly.

_Well, yeah, but Nami- I mean did you get a look at what Kairi was doing? She just __**flirted**__ with you!_

Sora shook his head suddenly to snap himself out of his reverie. He looked at his friend Tidus with suspicion. Roxas was one source, but he felt that someone who hadn't gone around hitting on half the girls in a virtual town would be a better choice to affirm it.

"Was Kairi _flirting _with me just now?"

Tidus stared at Kairi for about a second, watching her chat with her girlfriends in the class before looking at Sora again and giving him a slight nod.

"Definitely," he said. "Kairi was definitely flirting with you just now." Hearing the confirmation from two sources, and Roxas' snippy remark about doubting him, Sora felt the blush creep up onto his face. He'd never really considered Kairi the flirting type.

Actually, he realized that he'd never considered all of the things that could have possibly changed about Kairi in the year that she'd waited for his return. He certainly didn't figure that she'd have grown taller, or that her hair would have darkened a little, or even that she could possibly look lovelier than anytime he'd remembered seeing her before getting the keyblade.

But by God, she still smelled like strawberries!

A sound suddenly came from the intercom, something that Sora would normally have recognized as the final bell at this time of the day, but this time it sounded like it was a witch cackling over a thunderclap. Sora cocked his head and looked at it inquiringly, feeling a shiver run down his spine at the sound.

_Sounds like Maleficent_, he thought to himself.

_Old hag,_ Roxas added in agreement. Sora nodded his head in spite of the fact that he was the only one able to hear his other and started to walk out of the gymnasium.

"Hey Kairi," he said aloud, "what do you think we should do with Riku tonight? Watch movies or-?" He stopped, suddenly realizing that the girl he was supposed to be talking to was not walking with him as she usually did at the end of fourth block and consequently the end of the school day.

"Kairi?" he asked, looking over his left shoulder to observe that she was still standing in the middle of the gymnasium, talking with Selphie and Brittany as if the cackling bell had never gone off in the first place. He felt something collide with his right shoulder and saw a flash of shoulder-length golden-brown hair rush past him.

"Watch where you're going Kia," Sora grumbled, quickly moving aside as another student was about to crash into him.

"Sorry Sora," the girl hastily apologized.

_What's going on in the gym?_ Roxas asked. Sora shook his head.

"Beats me," he mumbled to himself. "But whatever it is, it doesn't seem like Kairi's leaving anytime soon."

_Why don't we ask her what's happening?_ enquired Roxas. Taking his question as sound advice, Sora went back into the gymnasium, making a beeline straight for Kairi.

She saw his approach and Sora saw her radiant face begin to beam at him. His pace slowed as the butterflies arrived in his stomach again when he saw her smile. He never knew before just how wonderful it felt to see Kairi smiling at him.

"Great! You're helping too Sora?" she asked. Sora stopped dead in his tracks.

"Um, what?"

Kairi frowned. "The school's Halloween dance," she said. Sora's eyes went wide and she sighed exasperatedly, much to the amusement of the girls around her. "Don't tell me you forgot about it."

"Okay fine," Sora said, "I won't tell you."

_Nice save to keep from embarrassing us in front of Kairi and all of her friends._ Sora ignored Roxas' comment for the moment.

"So-ra!" Kairi whined. "I've been telling you guys for weeks that I've been helping organize it. I even told you at the start of class that I'd have to stay behind to help set up!"

"I think that that was about the time Tidus challenged me and I had to go flatten him," Sora thought aloud. The girls around Kairi rolled their eyes and Selphie allowed herself to giggle a little, but Kairi's eyes were still narrowed at the sixteen year old keyblade master. As a little more silence settled in with Kairi constantly staring at Sora with her eyes set just the way they were in between annoyance and expectance, Sora began to feel more than just a little awkward. All of the girls now were staring at Sora as if he were some strange alien being that dropped from a star in the sky and they were unsure if they should kill him or let him into the fold.

Sweat beaded on Sora's brow as he felt himself being scrutinized by those eight-wait it was now fifteen! When did so many girls show up? Studied by the fifteen pairs of female eyes like under a microscope, Sora shifted nervously on his feet. "What?"

"So are going to help set up or what?" Kairi asked.

Sora would rather not. He knew that it was important to Kairi, he knew that he probably should help set up to make her happy. Seeing her happy made him happy so it was mutually beneficial. However, helping to set up would mean manual labour, and since he couldn't help but notice that he was the _only_ guy present, it was obvious even to him that he'd be given all of the tough jobs. He'd be able to do them of course, but by the time he'd be done his limbs would probably ache and he'd be tired and like nothing more than to sleep Halloween night away.

Despite being sixteen, he did _not_ want to spend Halloween night sleeping.

He also knew though that he would never get the chance to sleep Halloween night away anyway. Without any doubt, Kairi would be dragging both him and Riku to the Halloween dance, and he'd end up leaning against the walls all night in a tired, yawning daze and have no fun and begin a life-long determination to hate Halloween with a passion despite who he might have for friends.

So here was his dilemma: make Kairi and her fourteen organizing buddies (or was it now sixteen?) happy by helping set up for the dance and ruin his own fun for the night, or find some excuse not to help and end up showing up for the dance with his friends and a miffed Kairi who'll forget about the whole thing in two days and having fun.

In Sora's mind, the choice was simple. Now all he needed was that excuse.

"Hey Sora!"

Sora hastily hid his smile from Kairi's still glaring eyes. Good old Riku was there for him.

"Gee I'd love to Kairi," Sora said apologetically, doing his best to make it sincere. "But I think Riku wants to see me about something."

Kairi grumpily rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "Go off with Riku then." She then did a quick look around at the people who were around her and counted them off. Turning back to Sora with somewhat of a surprised look on her face as well as the very faintest of smiles she said, "Actually there are a lot more of here than I thought there would be. So I guess it's not too bad that you aren't staying."

She took a few small paces forward, the blue plaid uniform skirt she was forced to wear swaying a little bit along with the hair on the top of her head. "Thank you," Sora whispered.

"I know you didn't really want to do it anyway," Kairi replied, moving a bit of her hair out of her eyes with a hand. She smiled a bit wider and looked at him. "Just make sure you and Riku are here in costume for seven okay?"

"Okay Kai," Sora replied, already turning to go to Riku.

"And make sure you remember to bring enough munny to pay for your tickets at the door," Kairi called after him,

"Don't worry Kairi," Riku called back from the doors, hearing her comment. "I'll make sure he brings enough. God knows he scavenged enough from the damn heartless."

"Hey you can pay for your own ticket," Sora retorted, reaching Riku and the door. Riku laughed, slinging his backpack over one shoulder.

"Bye guys," Selphie said, still with the group.

"Bye girls," Sora and Riku replied, leaving through the doors. As soon as the doors closed behind him, Riku turned to his younger and still shorter best friend.

"Did you actually forget about the Halloween Dance Sora?" he asked, trying hard to conceal his amused smirk.

"I always have a lot to remember in the last week of October Riku," Sora argued, doing his best to defend himself while blushing from embarrassment. "It's my birthday on the twenty-fourth, the Blitz festival on the twenty-seventh, the first game of the season on the twenty-ninth-"

"And Halloween on the thirty-first," Riku interrupted. "Which usually means the Halloween Dance held by our school."

Sora shrugged, holding his arms in the air as they neared his locker. "How was _I_ supposed to know about that? This is my first year at this damn school, and I'm stuck right in the middle in grade eleven."

"Well it's not my fault you slept for a year," Riku said, leaning against a close locker as Sora unlocked his. Riku paused while Sora mumbled under his breath about stupid homework. "Well, actually it kinda is. But that's still not the point. They've been advertising this dance for nearly a month. They're even serving free food this year!"

Sora looked up, one hand on his backpack and the other on the side of his locker with his lock intertwined within his fingers. "Free food? Like, actually as many chips and cans of pop as we want without having to pay a thing?" Riku laughed as Sora slung his backpack over both shoulders and slammed his locker shut.

"Yes free food," answered Riku, watching Sora lock up. "It's the only way they could get guys like us to actually show up without being dragged by the girls."

"And Kairi's still dragging us to come," Sora said, smiling slightly at his own mention of Kairi. He turned his shoulder towards the hallway and he and Riku began to make their exit.

Riku couldn't help but not notice the smile on his best friend's face. "You really do love Kairi don't you?" Before Sora could answer he added, "Wait, of course you love Kairi. All of our friends know that you love her. Heck, even Kairi knows that you do."

Sora's face turned a shade of red that would outdo a cardinal. "Sh-she does?" he stuttered.

Riku rolled his eyes. "It's been pretty obvious that the two of you really like each other. Haven't you even seen the drawing in the Secret Place?"

"Yes," Sora said quietly. "I have."

"Then what are you two still doing, not being together?" Riku asked irritatedly. "God, it's like you're afraid of rejection even when the gates are open and people are waving and cheering your name in welcome."

"That's an interesting simile," Sora remarked, looking quizzically at Riku as they reached the school's entrance.

"Blame my English teacher," was all Riku would answer him with. "She's been waiting for you for over a year now Sora. When are you going to arrive?"

"But I'm here," Sora said in confusion, stepping through the open doors into the light of a lowering sun. "We're both here back safe."

Riku groaned. "She wants you to make a move Sora, she told me so this morning."

Sora looked at his friend in interest. "Make a move?"

"Lord help me, I'm dealing with an amateur," laughed Riku. "Kairi wants to hook up with you Sora. She wants to start dating and hanging out with just the two of you and for the two of you to dance together, but she wants you to make the first move."

_Funny, Kairi was saying something similar earlier._

"Yeah, she said something like that near the end of fourth block," Sora said, mentally poking Roxas for smugly reminding him about that. Where did his nobody get off with being so snobby with him? Naminé was within Kairi and she was to Roxas what Kairi was to Sora.

"Then why don't you?" Riku asked agitatedly. "She's getting a little frustrated with you Sora."

Sora laughed, but the laugh wasn't really laughter. It was more the hysterical laugh of someone who would be thought of as crazy or rambling without making sense. Riku stopped and stared at Sora, wondering what sort of change was coming over his friend. "Yeah, sure," Sora snorted. "She's depending on me, Sora: the hero of the universe who couldn't fulfill his promise and come back to her, who was stupid enough to not say or do anything when he finally reunited with the girl he has realized he's in love with except hug her awkwardly. Depending on me to be able to express my feelings for her when I can't feel anything except a hundred pounds of nerves whenever we get a possibly intimate moment and so lets it pass-"

"Sora!" Riku snapped, grabbing his ranting friend and shaking him roughly by the shoulders to snap him out of it. "Stop talking like this. You can do it, and tonight is the perfect night!"

Sora shook his head quickly to dispel all the negative thoughts he'd just been having and look inquiringly at Riku. How could tonight of all nights, Halloween night, be the perfect night to tell Kairi he loved her?

"I'd expect a comment like that from Selphie Riku," said Sora curiously, wondering what was going through his friend's mind. "Her happy-go-lucky helpless romantic attitude I did not anticipate from you."

"When did you learn the word 'anticipate'?"

"Bite me Riku, sometimes English classes and reading rub off on a person."

Riku shook his head and led Sora up the hill along the sidewalk, taking him right past a skeleton that had its eyes light up and started playing creepy music. "Look, she's been setting this up for you. Kairi joined the dance committee for the Halloween dance because she knows that you'll show up for it. Since she knows you'll be there, she knows that there's going to be a perfect excuse for you to make the first move so that you can continue onto the opportune moment."

"Perfect excuse?" asked Sora, oblivious.

_Asking her to dance you idiot._

"Shut up Roxas," Sora returned.

"He just told you then?" Riku asked. Sora nodded as they turned a corner onto the street where his house was. "Great, I'll meet you at the school at seven."

Sora nodded and bid Riku goodbye, watching him leave. He was pretty confident that he would be able to do that. How hard could asking Kairi to dance be?

-K-H-

The sky was dark at seven P.M., the sun having already quickly set. The streetlamps were bathing the ground in their suddenly eerie orange light, showcasing the display of creatures from the abyss and depths of Hades striding right next to the heroes and villains from animes, movies, and video games. Jack-O-Lanterns grinned toothily from every window with their flickering candles.

The islands themselves, thought in the daylight to appear not to care, showed that they really did keep up with the times. When one looked out into the distance towards any of them all they would see would be supernatural patches of glowing blue along the edges of the city and towns as the full moon gazed upon them; and total darkness otherwise. Silver mists rose from the edges of the seas to creep their way across the lands like skeletal fingers, bringing the cold promise of an unnatural death.

Sora met Riku at the doors of the school, enough munny with him to pay for his ticket to get into the dance. He was dressed as he had been whenever he went to Halloween Town, as a vampire with a small horned pumpkin mask on the top and side of his head. Riku was costumed differently. He had drawn his hair back into a ponytail and it looked as if he'd even gelled or used some kind of product to make it sleek instead of its usual scruffiness. He was dressed in a white linen shirt and a pair of tight black pants with a black belt and silver buckle. Strapped to the side of his belt was what looked like a pretty thick sheath with the circular handle of some blade at the end of the sheath. Sora gave the hilt a quick look before noticing the keychain attached to the end.

"What are you supposed to be Riku?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning forward.

"I am not Riku," answered the boy in what sounded like a rather impressive Transylvanian or Russian (Sora couldn't tell which) accent. "My name is Rikonun, slayer of vampires." With a deft motion and a smirk, Riku had called Way to the Dawn from its makeshift sheath and pointed it at Sora.

"Well if that's the case you're in for a rough night," said Sora, smirking as well, "For I am Sorato, vampire of the light and hunter of vampiric assassins." He took one step back and called Oblivion to his hands, placing its edge against Way to the Dawn.

Riku smiled wider and pressed, Sora countering and allowing the edges of the two keyblades to grate against each other with ringing notes. The two of them backed another pace away from each other, all to the bewilderment of the poor student who was handling the tickets.

Riku made the first move, swinging down at Sora from above. Sora raised Oblivion to parry and quickly brought his blade around to come at Riku's right shoulder. Riku twisted and blocked the blow, launching a counterstrike in the form of a thrust towards Sora's chest. The keyblade master reacted quickly, swinging his blade to knock Riku's aside before taking a step away to give himself a bit more distance and time with which to attack again.

While they battled, an angry voice started to become discernable through the music sifting through the school from the gymnasium's open doors. "Honestly where are those two? I told them to be here for seven, and it's now a quarter after! If they aren't outside, I'm going to be really-"

Kairi stopped, stunned as she exited the school to see a fireball whizzing past her head. Her eyes followed it in a flash and saw the fireball striking against the flat of Riku's keyblade. Her head swiveled the other way and observed a tiny tongue of smoke coming from the end of Sora's onyx blade.

Frowning, she strode in between both of the two teenagers and clapped her hands together once before turning a palm towards both of them. Instantly bright white light billowed out from the centre of each of her palms, the magic intensely directed perfectly for the eyes of the dueling keyblade masters.

Sora and Riku recoiled and yelled in anguish, suddenly being blinded by Kairi in the middle of a battle definitely not expected by either of them.

"Aw Kairi," Tidus whined from a nearby tree. "They were doing really well this time. Neither of them has even gotten hurt yet!"

"Good," Kairi said, straightening up and moving towards Sora, who was still blinking furiously at the ground. "We don't want a repeat of last time these two began fighting to the death."

"Milady I could not allow him to enter," Riku said quickly, still staying in character. "He is a vampire, and would devastate all of the young ladies within."

"And I had to fight back because he's a racist," Sora returned, giving Kairi a somewhat apologetic smile. Kairi's frown melted away at the sight of his smile. She was just glad that he was here and unhurt from his duel with her other best friend.

"Well Riku," she began.

"Rikonun," Riku admonished.

"Rikonun," Kairi corrected. "There are plenty of other vampires already inside, and a good number of them girls."

"There are?" Riku asked, surprised. "Well if you'll excuse me then my good witch, I have to begin flirtatiously dancing with death."

"He's going to chase girls tonight," Sora remarked, rolling his eyes as he watched Riku leave into the school gym.

Kairi giggled. "Well what do you expect? He's always got at least four or five of them hanging off of him." Sora chuckled slightly and looked at Kairi, blinking his eyes once more to try and rid a little bit more of the feeling of being blinded.

It had struck him with a little bit of confusion when Riku had referred to her as a witch, but as soon as Sora saw Kairi he understood perfectly. Her auburn hair was covered by a pointed and floppy brown hat with a purple belt around the base of the brim, and a small belt that really looked more like a collar was around her neck just above her collarbone. She wore a brown tank top with a jagged edge on the bottom as it ended about two inches above her navel, and resting slightly loosely on her hips was a ragged and torn dark brown skirt that extended all the way to the middle of her shins, the right side of the skirt below the middle of her calf being torn away to provide more mobility as well as showcasing her leg. The whole skirt was held up by a wide belt like the one on her hat. She wore brown gloves with bands around the wrists on her hands, and her feet were resting in a pair of short black boots.

Sora blushed when he got a good look at Kairi, allowing herself to show off more skin than she normally would. In the back of his mind he remembered what Riku had been telling him about, and it slowly dawned on him that he was probably right and that Kairi wanted this night to be the night.

"We'll see you inside guys," Tidus said, leaving to enter the school with Wakka and Selphie. Sora and Kairi nodded at them and repeated their own words back to them.

It was then that Kairi turned to Sora and let her hand slid into his. Sora suddenly felt a storm of angry butterflies being released into his stomach as he felt Kairi's hand (even within their gloves) in his own. She was looking up at him, and her eyes were twinkling at him. Sora couldn't feel anything other than blissful contentment to stare into those beautiful indigo eyes for the whole night.

"Well," she said at last, breaking through Sora's mental block though it was only five seconds, "shall we go in?" Sora smiled and nodded, allowing the witch to lead the vampire into the evil lair of hers that had been created over the past several hours.

The next thing Sora knew apart from the gentle tug of Kairi's hand was that the lights were now dim and dark, and yet also very bright. The gym itself had none of its lights on and the movable, foldable stands had been shoved against the wall to make as much room as possible for the audio/visual equipment that shone the brightly multicoloured lights through the artificial fog and pounded the music into the ears of the dancing teenage creatures of the day and night.

Sora marveled as he looked around. They'd done rather a lot in a short span of time. Cutout bats were hanging in flights all over the top of the ceiling, jack-o-lanterns flanked the entrance and exit to the gym, the door that led into a special simulation chamber was overworked with cobwebs and spiders (Sora shuddered when he saw the spiders), and a skeleton from the science wing was dressed in a suit and top hat by the punch and drinks. The rest of the Halloween atmosphere was provided by the music and the four hundred or so young people within the gym in costume.

Sora, in typical guy fashion, spotted the food as soon as he could and began to weave towards it through the other students, now dragging Kairi with him as her hand was still holding his. Within seconds he spotted Tidus and Selphie dressed as Frankenstein and a princess, respectively (he'd have laughed if he's seen it the other way around), sitting at a round table with Wakka, who had dressed himself up in a blitzball uniform without surprise. Sora released Kairi's hand and grabbed a drink from the food table and plopped it down on the table, taking a seat next to Tidus. Kairi had also grabbed a drink and sat next to Sora, looking wistfully out to the dance floor only a few meters away. The night was not quite going the way she'd expected, but there was still plenty of time.

However, soon Sora was lost in conversation with Tidus and Wakka about blitzball and which team was looking good this year between all of the islands, and even though he knew Kairi was there, it was almost like he was forcing her out of his mind.

At one point though, he found himself being interrupted by someone from outside the table. A girl he recognized from Kairi's physical education class by the name of Cathy, dressed as a mummy in a somewhat revealing outfit, had broken into his sentence and asked him to dance as a song ended and a new one began.

Sora took one quick look at Kairi, who had stopped looking at him and wouldn't even answer when he tried to get her to join in the conversation, and apologetically told her 'thank you but no'. Kairi looked up slightly at this, but she still didn't grant Sora with a look.

Selphie suddenly squealed as she recognized the song as one of her many, many favourites, and dragged Tidus up from his chair and onto the dance floor despite his protesting. Wakka watched and chuckled at them for close to ten seconds before leaving the table himself to join in the dancing mass of people.

It took a minute for Sora to realize that he and Kairi were now alone at their table, and another two minutes of scanning the crowd to realize that every last one of their friends was dancing except for them.

Sora felt his face grow hot as he looked at Kairi, drumming her fingers expectantly against the wooden tabletop. He knew what she was waiting for. Sora knew that she was waiting for him to ask her to dance. He knew that Kairi was not having fun at a dance she had helped coordinate, a dance that she was _supposed_ to be having the time of her life at.

And why was she not having fun? Because she was not dancing. Or more specifically, she was not having fun because she was not dancing with _him_.

Kairi sighed loudly. "Ooh, _Billie Jean_. I love this song."

Sora's eyes lit up. Here it was, the opportune moment to ask Kairi to dance. He liked _Billie Jean_, Kairi liked _Billie Jean_, it was an easy song to dance to and there was even a variation of the electric slide that went along with it. It was the perfect time to make a move.

_Come on,_ Roxas said. _Come on, just ask her to dance. Just say it!_

Sora opened his mouth, fully intending to do exactly as Roxas ordered. His heart was in pain simply seeing Kairi so angry and frustrated and miserable that he'd be willing to do anything to see her smile.

But the fluttery feeling in his stomach that made it feel like it was going to revolt against him made his tongue dry and flap idly against the roof of his mouth. Downing some water and shutting his mouth again to allow it to soak up some of the moisture, Sora waited a few seconds before trying again.

He took in a long, slow, and deep breath, one that was obviously audible enough for Kairi to hear because her head slowly turned slightly in his direction until he could see her eyes. "Kairi?"

"Yes Sora?" she asked, her eyes revealing nothing to him. Not hope, not quivering anticipation of the coming question, not frustration or anger, not even a subtle hint of anything that could help him; her eyes were an enigma.

Sora couldn't draw his eyes away from her face and he forgot that his mouth was still hanging open slightly. She was so beautiful when the pink spotlight quickly flowed over her face. He'd never realized it at all before. Kairi's features had changed slightly in the time that he'd been gone, but he didn't begrudge them for it, he loved them for the changes they'd brought. Or maybe it was just that his eyes were seeing from his heart.

Unfortunately for Sora, Kairi couldn't even begin to contemplate Sora's sudden lack of speech, and sighed and hung her head in disappointment when more than several seconds had elapsed. Sora shook his head as it flushed red in self-directed anger and embarrassment for staring at her like an idiot, Roxas' internal comments all directed towards the same subject.

He opened his mouth to try and go for one more chance, try and ask Kairi to dance again. Who'd have known asking the girl you love to dance would be so damn hard? But fate seemed against him this night for a boy dressed as Zorro had just come up to their table and extended his hand towards Kairi and asked her to dance.

Barely glancing at Sora with almost a hurt look in her eyes, Kairi took his head. "Yes please," was her answer.

Even after Kairi was well on the dance floor with her fake swordsman hero of Mexico, almost as far away from the table where Sora sat at as she could be, the two words she had spoken were still cutting into Sora's heart as he stared into his glass with a mix of anger and pity.

_You are a complete idiot Sora,_ he was telling himself. _Why couldn't I just ask her to dance? Why did I have to chicken out like a spineless worm? I didn't chicken out against Xemnas like that. I didn't run from Saïx like that! Why'd I have to leave Kairi hanging like that and hurt her?_

_Naminé is trying to convince Kairi to give you another chance,_ Roxas said, doing his best not to relay his disappointment in Sora's actions or lack thereof to his somebody. _But, it's not going very well. She's pretty much ticked right off at you and doesn't think you'll be able to ever get the courage to ask her to anything._

_Well why doesn't she just ask me?_ Sora inquired, not really caring for the answer. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He'd had the opportune moment to start something between him and Kairi and he'd let it slip through his fingers.

_It's your job to do that Sora,_ Roxas answered, somewhat sheepishly. Sora stayed quiet for another few seconds, still staring into his drink and being determined to not look in Kairi's direction.

"Would you like to dance Sora?"

He didn't even look up. "No thank you Lia, I don't feel like dancing right now." Sora shrugged and sighed raggedly as the girl with spiked green hair went somewhere else.

"I am such a douchbag!" he moaned into his hands.

"I knew I should have slain you outside the school vamp." Sora looked up angrily at Riku, who had three different giggling girls dressed as hot vampires hanging off his arms. Riku, however, shrugged them off and sat irritatedly on Sora's left.

"I'm not in the mood Riku," said Sora, not looking at his best friend. Riku didn't answer with words, but instead punched Sora right in the gut.

"Get off your lazy butt and make a move on Kairi now," Riku ordered, giving Sora two seconds to wheeze air back into his crushed lungs.

"But-"

"Do it or I'll cut off the only things that could possibly make you a man someday."

Sora's face turned white as a sheet as Riku's hand slowly went to the keyblade he had sheathed on his hip. Within two seconds Sora was on his feet and advancing into the mob of people on the dance floor, doing his best to find Kairi.

"That wasn't very nice," one of the girls who had come with Riku said, leering at him.

Riku smirked. "He needed it," he answered. "If Sora loses Kairi then all I went through loving her knowing that she loved him instead will mean nothing. And then I'll be _really_ angry with him."

_Do you have any idea what you're going to do?_

_Not a damned clue Roxas,_ Sora answered, still milling and excusing his way through the dancing mob of students to find Kairi. _All I know is that I've got to do something tonight or Riku's going to castrate us._

_You mean you._

_You're me too Roxas. If I lose them, _you_ lose them too._

Roxas was silent for a second.

_I swear if you end up screwing this up I will punish you for the rest of your life with annoying repetitive songs for the rest of your natural and unpleasant life._

Sora put his retort to his nobody's remark out of his mind, for finally he had spotted his quarry. Kairi was still dancing with the masked Zorro nearby, and for once she was smiling. Sora stopped and examined the smile on Kairi's face. It looked like she was having fun, but for once it was able to get through to his head that Kairi was thoroughly _not_ enjoying herself through the smile.

"Kairi!" he called, coming closer. She appeared not to have heard him over the music, which he had to admit, was quite loud. "Kairi, he tried again. "Kairi!"

At last she heard her name, and turned to the voice's carrier only to see that it was Sora. She scowled at him and turned away, but Sora pressed the feelings of hurt that gave him away, knowing full well that he deserved them. Kairi didn't even appear to notice that he was still coming closer until he was practically right on top of her with his hand on her shoulder.

"Kairi…" he said, still not quite sure just what he was supposed to say. Her head snapped towards him, the floppy point of her witch's hat swatting him in the face. The look she gave him was so cold he could feel his hand begin to grow numb.

"If you're going to ask me to dance you can forget it Sora," she said icily. "You've had your chance. You've had more than your fair share of chances." She shrugged his hand off of her shoulder and began to storm away, the magic within her anger making it scary enough.

The very essence of that made Sora suddenly think of Maleficent. He'd chased after her with no fear, and so now with that thought in mind, he chased after Kairi with an almost equal amount of terror.

Almost was a matter of perspective. He'd never even considered what he was about to do, but all of a sudden he knew exactly what he was going to and that's what terrified him, and also thrilled him.

Quick as a flash, his hand had snatched out and grabbed Kairi's forearm, halting her progress about midway across the dance floor, more than a few pairs of eyes following them with interest. Kairi whipped around angrily, feeling the strong grip of Sora's hand on her arm keeping her from moving away from him.

"Let go," she said.

"No," Sora answered. "You can't quit when we haven't started the game yet."

Kairi looked at him in confusion. "What?"

Sora moved too quickly for Kairi to react. First he pulled her a little closer to him while shortening the distance with a small step of his own. Simultaneously his other arm came up around her back to hold the back of her head. Once that was done he allowed his first hand to leave her arm and go to Kairi's waist. Finally, he leaned his head to within an inch of Kairi's.

She blinked when she realized just how close he had suddenly come. Sora felt his heart racing as Kairi's confused eyes looked into his, and he felt that he wouldn't have been able to continue had Riku's punch not evicted the butterflies from his system.

"Here's my move," he said, before closing the gap between them and letting his lips press against hers in a simple kiss.

At first Kairi didn't react, but within the space of a lifetime and an instant, he felt her begin to kiss him back. He'd never known how something as simple as a kiss could send him into blissful heaven. Weights appeared around his neck and pressing against his shoulders, drawing him closer, and he suddenly recognized them as Kairi's arms. Why would her arms be there? It was just a simple kiss. But then, why were his hands now on Kairi's waist and the small of her back if it was just a simple kiss?

Why did his nerves tingle where Kairi's fingers pressed into his shoulders if it was just a simple kiss? Why was there a budding feeling against his lips that couldn't possibly be Kairi's tongue if it was just a simple kiss? Why was his mouth suddenly being delighted by a taste it had never encountered before if it was just a simple kiss? Why did it feel like there was a welcome invader in his mouth if it was just a simply kiss? Why did it feel like his own tongue was no longer within his own mouth if it was just a simple kiss? Why was he pressing Kairi closer to him as if he'd never let her go again if it was just a simple kiss?

Perhaps because it wasn't a simple kiss. Perhaps because it was the kiss they'd been waiting to share for half their lives.

A new feeling suddenly attacked Sora. A feeling far more vital than the pleasant feeling of the kiss he and Kairi were sharing. The feeling of a primal need to survive. The feeling of a need for precious air!

As one the two broke apart, but neither of them gasped right from the start, only slowly bringing air into their lungs in heavy pants.

They suddenly became aware of several people wolf-whistling and clapping in their general vicinity, and both embarrassed teens quickly turned a vibrant shade of red while laughing slightly sheepishly.

"Wow." Sora and Kairi looked at the source of the voice to see Riku glancing down at his watch. "Where the heck did you two gain that kind of lung capacity?"

A small smattering of people laughed sporadically at Riku's comment. The music started again, and within several seconds many of the students had completely forgotten about Sora and Kairi's little episode in the middle of the dance floor.

"White is supposed to move first," Sora said quietly, realizing that he was now once more holding hands with Kairi again, "right Kairi?"

Kairi gave a genuine smile and looked at him. "Well if you're white, how come you look so red?" Her eyes were twinkling at him once more, and there was a very subtle flutter of her eyelashes.

_Oh God, she's flirting with you again!_

Sora agreed, and knew exactly how to counter it this time, Kairi's set him up for it.

"Do you know what makes the Red Man red?" he asked, parrying her question with one of his own. Kairi cocked her head to the side in interest.

"No, what?"

"Let's go back a million years to the very first Indian Prince," Sora said. "He kissed a maid and began to blush and they've all been blushing since."

Kairi couldn't help but giggle, but she got it under control before she said, "Now what?"

"Now I wait for you."

Kairi looked dumbfounded by his answer, and this time it was Sora's turn to sigh disappointedly.

"After white moves it's black's turn, is it not?" Sora asked, his sigh turning into a grin. He waved his hand around to remind her that they were in the middle of a dance floor pumping _Thriller_ into their heads.

Kairi seemed to freeze for a few seconds while Sora waited expectantly. "Not so easy is it," he teased, "asking someone to dance?"

"Shut up," Kairi said, shoving him playfully. Sora laughed and gave her a quick kiss.

"Come on Kai," he said, still laughing as a jarring chord struck from the music. He then spoke in his best imitation of Count Dracula, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that he lacked a cape and the pumpkin on his head made it look ridiculous "Just say it. I'm making it easier on you then you did on me."

"Fine," Kairi said, pouting her lip and looking off to the side. "Would you like to dance Sora?"

"Yes please," Sora replied, his voice still dripping with its fake accent. Kairi shook her head at his choice of words, but that still didn't stop her sides from shaking at how silly his voice sounded.

"Alright," Kairi agreed with a playful warning tone in her voice. "But if you get your fangs anywhere close to biting me, I'll turn you into a spotted toad!" Sora laughed again in his creepy accented voice and swooped down on Kairi to plant a kiss on her neck just above the collar belt she was wearing while she delightedly shrieked, only for them to be roughly broken up by Mr. Tara and given a stern talking to.

By the end of the night Sora was positive that'd he'd definitely help organize the next year's Halloween dance. He'd make sure it lasted much longer, and without the teachers supervising.

-K-H-

_Quite a long oneshot I will admit, but I still hope you all liked it._

_Please leave a review if you're so inclined._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


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